Migraine + nausea

[ToysRus56]

Hi, I have had a migraine for the past week and nausea. Does anyone have any advice? I have a doctors appointment next week. I have had a neurological check/ scan so I know its nothing sinister. I'd rather not take medication...

Mine were caused by caffeine, sugar and dairy. Randomly appears after a medical issue.
I ended up in A&E with mine. Scan all clear so was recommended to cut the above three out then slowly reintroduce after a few months.
It reduced my migraines alot. I only get one occasional now if I eat too much sugar for a period of time.

Hot or cold compress to forehead or back of neck. Cold compress to soles of feet. Red lens glasses.

Buccastem and sumatriptan together if you do decide to take medication.

I don't understand why you wouldn't want to take medication .Anti-migraine drugs work. Why put yourself through the pain unnecessarily?

@KrisAkabusi Ah I am trying to get pregnant and keep seeing how various meds effect fertility :( Otherwise trust me I would be popping those pills

Have you seen some of the side effects? On top of migraine I'm currently having to deal with hypersomnia / oversleeping which is a side effect of the medication I'm on

I find indigestion tablets help with the nausea from a migraine - some are fine for pregnancy.

@SJM1988 That's interesting. Did they just try and map what you'd been eating prior to the migraine coming on? Because else where advice is to have caffeine and sugar. So confusing

No they didn't. I had my migraines after a miscarriage so they weren't really sure where to start. Initially they though it was a blood clot hence A&E. But after a series of tests and scans, they couldn't find anything. Then maybe it could be the hormones and stress but those we couldn't make any chances too in the short term.
They said to start by removing these food groups after asking what my diet was like. I assume the consultant maybe knew where to start first.
Caffeine I still can not have more than 1 cup a day of (4 years later). Sugar I'm ok with small doses but if I go overboard for a few days it results in a migraine. Dairy no effect at all now.

The only answer I had is that my body must have changed and no longer can handle caffeine or sugar well. It could have been a side effect of the miscarriage (I had a medically managed one so took tablets etc) or it could have just been my body changing over time.

@SJM1988 Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. So sorry. As if that wasn't painful enough. Yes, I do wonder whether chocolate triggered mine, so am now rather nervous of eating anything!

as a chronic migraine sufferer, you've very lucky to be able to look at your screens! when i get one, thats pretty much it for me... to bed, dark room, relpax taken and its goodnight vienna!

Its just odd because the headache isn't really that bad at all, but its the nausea and light sensitivity that's lasting for days and days. I got a scan and all that was fine. Has anyone experienced long period of nausea post the initial migraine? Its definitely connected to my head, I don't have any stomach issues. (Thanks everyone for your input - I had no idea how awful this was, feel so bad for people that get this regularly)

I get migraines and I get nausea and diarrhoea for 48 hours afterwards. I've been on propananol for the last five years as a preventative and it's been absolute life changing. I know you're worried about side effects but talk to your GP. I can't recommend getting treatment highly enough.

Ginger ale is the world's best kept secret.

As a lifetime and chronic migraineur, take the medicine.

There are no magic cures for an attack except modern medicine. I've tried absolutely everything.

Ask your Dr for an anti emetic or buy one in a pharmacy. Same for a triptan.

Hi OP, just as an alternative, have you seen a physio?

I get migraines that sound quite similar to yours - headache but not that bad, but feelings of pressure, uncontrollable nausea, visual disturbance and photosensitivity.

I no longer need medication since seeing a physio who identified high levels of muscular tension in my upper back and esp neck around the vertebrae just below the skull (C1, C2). He explained that pressure right at the base of the skull (so up under the hairline really) could affect proprioception and cause nausea.

I had never heard of this but he did quite a subtle upper back and neck massage and the next day, my nausea was gone. I now have to manage actively, doing stretches and my own neck massage every night, but if I do this, I now almost never wake up with a migraine starting. And no meds.

Thank you
Mine came with nausea afterward - at its worst it would make me sick.
The way the consultant described it was as a cup filling up. Low levels of each of the groups would keep a steady level in that cup but a big influx of one would overfill it. Overfilling it would be the migraine trigger.

Since I started the food management though I now know where my levels are so only had one migraine in about 2 years. I can usually feel when I'm getting to the top of my cup and stop things that could push me over. E.g. today is a top of the cup level. I've had a birthday in the house this week so we have eaten lots of cake. This weekend I know I need to avoid sugar like the plague!

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff thank you so much! I don't suppose there's a You tube video you could link to to show the type of massage you mean? That's the thing, the headache isn't that bad/ barely there tbh so I feel weird popping lots of pills. But I know all of this stemmed from a headache/ migraine.

@SJM1988 this makes a lot of sense. And I like that its not a question of abstaining completely, just having to balance it out. Very wise! I am trying to stop eating sugar anyway as I'm trying (struggling) to get pregnant. I think that's what's making all of this feel worse. Sort of want my body to behave, and I hate taking medication when I'm not sure what effect that will have. Too many unknowns.

Another migraine sufferer here. I've noticed if I eat a lot of sugary stuff (like a bag of sweets or lots of sugary biscuits) I get a migraine that same evening which can last the next day too and which paracetamol+ibuprofen barely helps.

I cut out caffeine a few months ago due to tiredness and suspecting it might be causing headaches/migraines. I cut out sugary snacks (and started dieting) a month ago and I've only had period migraines in that time!

Migraines aren’t just pain. You need to treat them.

yes, some of the daily preventatives are not compatible with pregnancy or ttc. You don’t have to take those obviously.

i find caffeine, sugar, and something high in fat will help if I when I have a migraine. Chocolate cheesecake is basically the perfect thing if I can get hold of some. Sometimes I will eat just the meat from a cheeseburger. I used to drink coca-cola before I became allergic to it. Now I have a ginger beer for the sugar and the bubbles.

aspartame gives me migraines. It’s in bloody everything! Seriously, look into possible causes. I did manage to get my migraines under control mostly by eliminating things and being careful with things like screen and light exposure. In recent years however they became connected to my monthly cycle and I’ve ended up having to take medication as I just can’t afford to take the several days off work every time. I’m hoping the menopause will fix it for me.

there’s probably more than one thing causing it. Everyone is different. You’ll have to try cutting things out and see what happens. Obvious first things to drop are caffeine and alcohol. But some food additives, cheese, and other random ingredients can also cause migraines. And some medicines, including the contraceptive pill. Also worth getting your eyes tested, that was a big one for me. Figuring out about aspartame was the biggest thing though, genuinely life changing.

You can get a Migraine Relief Mask or Cap which can be chilled down in the fridge. I find it helps to cool my head and warm my feet while resting for half an hour with a blanket over me. A bath with lavender or/and geranium essential oil can also help me with the nausea. Hot fruit or herbal teas are now my beverages of choice and I will sip one slowly. Although I don’t want to eat, being empty prolongs my nausea, so I eat simple things like some toast or soup every few hours.
I have found that my migraines are of much shorter duration if I take Vitamin B2 daily. It is great if they only last a day or two rather than 3 or more. Also, I have a cooling pillow pad at night and sleep in quite a cold room. Overheating at night can trigger a migraine for me.
The Migraine Society has a lot of useful information on their website.
I’m sorry that you are suffering a migraine episode and hope that they will just be something that only occur infrequently for you. Most people don’t understand how debilitating they can be.

I need salt+sugar+caffeine when I have a migraine - a cup of strong tea with l tsp sugar and white toast with marmite is about all I can eat, if I'm lucky.

Take the medication though. I have prochlorperazine (available otc) for nausea and sumatriptan nasal spray for the migraine pain. The nasal spray has been a game changer, I have my life back.

Ive been known to pass out when i get hit with a migraine.
I get this sickness im going to vomit any second my head goes fuzzy i go pale i hit the floor if i dont sit down.
I get all sorts of migraine symptoms even my vision brain frog cant speak cant remember anything its scary.
But it depends on what migraine im getting.
I also get virtigo everything is spinning with some migraines and ear ringing is constant more of a hissing now.
My lest fav is when i have my head in the loo every 5 mins and cant eat for 3 days.
I dont take meds as they make me worse but i have changed things took me a while to find my triggers.
Chocolate cheese tea and loads of others.
Coffee and coke help me.
I also wear sunshades when i go out no matter what the weather is i have them on sometimes i wear them in doors when its bad and have ear buds in if im in a busy loud area.
If im struck with one of my worse my whole home is dark.
I all so have rose tint glasses that help i need glasses to see all my glasses are prescription.
Youtube is good for advice too.

I get regular (1-2 per month) migraines and the nausea is more debilitating than the headache for me, always lasts several days. Mine are mostly triggered by skipping meals/low blood sugar and stress.

I went to a top neurologist when having migraines with aura. He said he would try giving me medication (pain killers, beta blockers etc) but also told me migraines are basically a modern lifestyle disease.

He pretty much said that if we completely change our lives, go to bed early every day, live in the countryside away from noise and air pollution, eat healthily (zero sugar, zero processed food, zero alcohol), and meditate to bring down stress, then our migraines would very probably disappear.

Obviously, very few people can make all those changes, but I decided to change what I could. I still live in a city but if I try to get 9 hours sleep every night and am very careful with what I eat, then I only get migraines every 3 months or so. A vast improvement over the weekly migraines I was getting before.